Ajay Mishra, former advocate commissioner on the committee appointed for conducting a survey of the disputed Gyanvapi Mosque, on Tuesday, 17 May, denied wrongdoing and blamed another member of the panel for his removal.
Mishra was on Tuesday removed from the court-appointed committee by a Varanasi court.
"I've not done anything that reveals the secrecy of the matter. I was removed because of the allegations of Advocate Vishal Singh. I will respect the court order," he said, laying the blame for the court's action on Singh, according to news agency ANI.
Mishra was removed from the case for leaking information from the survey to the media. He had earlier been accused of bias in the case as well.
Speaking to NDTV, Mishra said that he had done nothing wrong and had been "betrayed by Vishal Singh," who had "taken advantage of his trusting nature."
He claimed that he had no idea of Singh's plans. "I feel really sad. I was not biased. I will not say anything about the survey," he told NDTV.
Mishra had engaged a private person for the videography, who had leaked information to the media. "What can I do about it? I hired the photographer, he cheated," Mishra told NDTV.
Singh has now been elevated to the post of Advocate Commissioner.
Assistant Court Commissioner Ajay Pratap Singh told ANI UP that Mishra was removed from the post of advocate commissioner because he was not cooperating.
Meanwhile, the court on Tuesday also extended the time granted to the commission by two days. The remaining two members of the court-appointed commission will submit the report of the survey conducted at the mosque.
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